Dardenne wants to avoid special election, saving the state millions

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Louisiana Lt. Gov.-elect Jay Dardenne has worked out a situation where a special election will not be required for his old secretary of state office, saving the state millions of dollars.

It is estimated the election would have cost about $6 million. His convincing win means a shuffle in statewide officials.

Dardenne can, by law, take over as lieutenant governor on Nov. 12. However, that course of action would mean a special election to fill his secretary of state position. By waiting a week, Dardenne effectively saves the state millions.

"Basically, waiting for the nine-day contest period to challenge the election and normally, you would, but I'm going to wait to make certain that we do not have a special election that would cost taxpayers $6 million," he explained.

There is lots of speculation now on what Gov. Bobby Jindal's next move will be.